Nielsen to track Netflix and Amazon viewing

Netflix original series Hemlock Grove

US information and measurement firm Nielsen is reportedly set to start recording TV viewership on subscription online video services including Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, which cites Nielsen client documents, the firm will use new measurement capabilities that don’t need the consent of the likes of Netflix and will start tracking the services starting from next month.

Nielsen will analyse audio from programmes to identify what shows are being streamed via computers, but are still working on a way to measure SVOD viewing on mobile devices, according to the WSJ.

The service is designed to help content owners better understand the viewing figures of shows they have licensed to SVoD services, with the likes of Netflix refusing to publicly disclose viewing data.

To date, the nearest anyone has come to ascertaining how many people watch Netflix shows has come from tech firm Procera Networks, which measures broadband traffic.